Aug 1 The Minefield

In today's media landscape, we are buffeted by outrage, even as each camp retreats more stubbornly to its respective corner. This fight-nobody-can-win leaves little room for contemplation of the moral questions that attend the headlines. Thanks be, then, for Waleed Aly, Australia's collective moral compass. Beloved as one host of TV panel program The Project (a role in which he has proved himself a powerful voice of reason), he appears in this Radio National show with scholar and critic Scott Stephens to engage meaningfully with the questions of the day. Each episode features a lively discussion on a subject of important - free speech, Brexit, terrorism, Pokemon Go - and interrogates the ethical and moral dimensions of each. Hearing these two, and their guests, enunciate their opinions, and respectfully acknowledge one another's points, is a rare intellectual pleasure. Lots of 25-minute episodes are available now.

Gateway episodes: Has free speech had its day? (21 Jul 2016) / When is public shaming OK? (25 Feb 2016) / Love in a time of terror: can we break the cycle? (19 Nov 2015)